Posted on 05/17/2006 7:19:19 AM PDT by Reaganesque
Quotes from early reviews of "The DaVinci Code" at Cannes:
"CANNES, France - "The Da Vinci Code" drew lukewarm praise, shrugs of indifference, some jeering laughter and a few derisive jabs Tuesday from arguably the world's toughest movie crowd: critics at the Cannes Film Festival."
"One especially melodramatic line uttered by Hanks drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls, and the audience continued to titter for much of the film's remainder.
Some people walked out during the movie's closing minutes, though there were fewer departures than many Cannes movies provoke among harsh critics. When the credits rolled, there were a few whistles and hisses, and there was none of the scattered applause even bad movies sometimes receive at Cannes."
Yahoo News
"A pulpy page-turner in its original incarnation as a huge international bestseller has become a stodgy, grim thing in the exceedingly literal-minded film version of "The Da Vinci Code." Tackling head-on novelist Dan Brown's controversy-stirring thriller hinging on a subversively revisionist view of Jesus Christ's life, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have conspired to drain any sense of fun out of the melodrama, leaving expectant audiences with an oppressively talky film that isn't exactly dull, but comes as close to it as one could imagine with such provocative material; result is perhaps the best thing the project's critics could have hoped for. Enormous public anticipation worldwide will result in explosive B.O. at the start in near-simultaneous release in most international territories, beginning May 17 in some countries -- day-and-date with the official Cannes opening-night preem -- and May 19 in the U.S. and elsewhere."
Variety
" Several whistles instead of applause were all that greeted the end of Ron Howard's 125-million-dollar film, and worse than that, the 2,000-strong audience even burst out laughing at the movie's key moment.
"I didn't like it very much. I thought it was almost as bad as the book. Tom Hanks was a zombie, thank goodness for Ian McKellen. It was overplayed, there was too much music and it was much too grandiose," said Peter Brunette, critic for the US daily The Boston Globe. '
Breitbart.com
"Bottom line: A jumble of historical myth, religious symbology and international thriller-action makes for an unwieldy, bloated melodrama."
The Hollywood Reporter.com
Do we have any indication what that line might have been?
The plot line posits that Leonardo DaVinci was a leader of a secret society that protected a dark...ummm...secret. Supposedly Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ married and had children. She supposedly moved to France. Their bloodline survives to this day, according to the story, and the Catholic Church wants to kill Christ's heir. The "code" is not a code at all, but a series of clues that unravel the secret. The "holy grail" is supposedly Mary Magdalene.
While the book, as a whole, is just a garden-variety mystery, certain passages are among the most virulent anti-Christian and anti-Catholic screeds ever written.
The controversy arises from the author's insistence that, although he wrote a work of fiction, the underlying story of Magdalene and Christ is true.
In fact, Dan Brown, the DaVinci Code's author, ripped off the premise from a best-selling non-fiction book of pop pseudo-history published in the 1980's called Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
Will the indictment be public within 24 business hours? ;-)
A better book touching upon a similar mileau is "A Cry of Absence" by Madison Jones.
This should help put the churches at ease.
The "common" folk are common for a reason...
You missed my press conference this afternoon?
However, I'm disgusted by his insistence that it's a work based on historical fact. It isn't, and he knows it. Worse, he knows he ripped off the premise from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which itself was based on a documented hoax.
In addition, I'm not someone who is easy to offend. Yet even I was offended at Brown's thoroughly despicable anti-Christian/Catholic screed in some passages.
Although it's not a literal case of plagiarism, Dan Brown totally ripped off the concept from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," first published in the UK in 1982, and written by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" was a non-fiction book that spun a tale about Mary Magdalene being the Holy Grail out of supposedly ancient documents found in France. The documents were later proven to be a hoax. In fact, the hoaxer admitted to having planted the fake documents.
Nevertheless, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" was an international best seller that spawned a cottage industry of conspiracy theories centered on the notion that Mary Magdalene married Jesus Christ. Dan Brown ripped off the entire premise of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," fictionalized it and thereby avoided strictly literal plagiarism.
LOL A bad idea for a movie just got a lot worse.
LOL! I agree.
;-)
Snicker... :)
WOW.
That is the same photo that I thought reminded me of Smeagol (Gollum) in LOTR. (My preeeecious) In his case it was the presidency. That thought still sends shivers down my spine
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.